The Oxford Illustrated History of World War II

Richard Overy

Written by a team of leading historians under the expert editorial guidance of Richard Overy

Covers everything from Japanese aggression against China in the early 1930s to the transition from World War to Cold War in the late 1940s

Outlines the genesis of war, the major theatres of conflict, the economics of total war, the fighting power of the combatants, genocide, the culture of war, and the experience of war for both combatants and civilians

Explores the course of the war not just in terms of the Allied response but also from the viewpoint of the Axis aggressor states

A stimulating and thought-provoking new interpretation of one of the most terrible episodes in world history

The Oxford Illustrated History of World War II

Richard Overy

Description

World War Two was the most devastating conflict in recorded human history. It was both global in extent and total in character. It has understandably left a long and dark shadow across the decades. Yet it is three generations since hostilities formally ended in 1945 and the conflict is now a lived memory for only a few. And this growing distance in time has allowed historians to think differently about how to describe it, how to explain its course, and what subjects to focus on when considering the wartime experience.

For instance, as World War Two recedes ever further into the past, even a question as apparently basic as when it began and ended becomes less certain. Was it 1939, when the war in Europe began? Or the summer of 1941, with the beginning of Hitler's war against the Soviet Union? Or did it become truly global only when the Japanese brought the USA into the war at the end of 1941? And what of the long conflict in East Asia, beginning with the Japanese aggression in China in the early 1930s and only ending with the triumph of the Chinese Communists in 1949?

In The Oxford Illustrated History of World War Two a team of leading historians re-assesses the conflict for a new generation, exploring the course of the war not just in terms of the Allied response but also from the viewpoint of the Axis aggressor states. Under Richard Overy's expert editorial guidance, the contributions take us from the genesis of war, through the action in the major theatres of conflict by land, sea, and air, to assessments of fighting power and military and technical innovation, the economics of total war, the culture and propaganda of war, and the experience of war (and genocide) for both combatants and civilians, concluding with an account of the transition from World War to Cold War in the late 1940s. Together, they provide a stimulating and thought-provoking new interpretation of one of the most terrible and fascinating episodes in world history.

The Oxford Illustrated History of World War II

Richard Overy

Table of Contents

PrefaceAcknowledgementsEditor's Introduction1. The Genesis of World War, Patricia Clavin2. Japan's War in Asia, Steven Lee3. The Italian Wars, Nicola Labanca4. The German Wars, Richard Overy5. The West and the War at Sea, Eric Grove6. The Allies from Defeat to Victory, Evan Mawdsley7. Fighting Power: World War and Military Innovation, David French8. Economies in Total War, Richard Overy9. Front Line I: Armed Forces at War, Michael Snape10. Front Line II: Civilians at War, Richard Overy11. Unnatural Deaths, Richard Bessel12. War, Invention, and Experts, David Edgerton13. The Culture of War: Propaganda, Arts and Ideas, David Welch14. From World War to Cold War, Geoffrey RobertsEpilogueFurther ReadingIndex

The Oxford Illustrated History of World War II

Richard Overy

Author Information

Richard Overy is Professor of History at the University of Exeter. He is the author of more than twenty five books on the history of twentieth-century war and dictatorship, including the highly acclaimed Why the Allies Won (1995) and the prize-winning Dictators: Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia (2004). He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. His most recent book is The Bombing War: Europe 1939-1945 (2013), shortlisted for the Guggenheim-Lehrman Prize in military history.

Contributors:

Richard Bessel, University of York Patricia Clavin, University of OxfordDavid Edgerton, King's College LondonDavid French, University College London Eric Grove, Liverpool Hope UniversityNicola Labanca, University of Siena Steven Lee, University of British ColumbiaEvan Mawdsley, University of Glasgow Richard Overy, University of ExeterGeoffrey Roberts, University College CorkMichael Snape, University of Birmingham David Welch, University of Kent

The Oxford Illustrated History of World War II

Richard Overy

Reviews and Awards

"Compelling in its narrative, fascinating in its detail, magisterial in its analysis, global in its breadth, Richard Overy, one of our outstanding scholars of mid-20th Century history, here delivers a military, political and economic history of WW2, aided by a galaxy of distinguished scholars, that is essential, accessible reading for general readers as well as students." --Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Stalin: the Court of the Red Tsar

"Do we really need another illustrated history of WW II? Yes, we do, especially this volume, which combines a breadth and depth not seen in much military history writing. The skillful analysis of each chapter does not sacrifice narrative ability to address topics ranging from the German, Italian, and Japanese conduct of the land, sea, and air wars to the political intricacies of the Grand Alliance, scientific innovation, and the cultural history of the war." --CHOICE